Alutiiq Word of the Week - June 15, 2012Sun’alleq: Three Saints Bay Sun’allrmen agyugtua: I want to go to Three Saints Bay. Three Saints Bay is a narrow, 8.7 mile-long embayment on the southeastern side of Kodiak Island. The shores of this productive waterway have been home to Alutiiq people for millennia. Nestled between larger Kaiugnak Bay and Sitkalidak Strait at the foot of some of Kodiak’s tallest mountains, the bay is known for its ancient settlem...

Alutiiq Word of the Week - June 8, 2012Guuteq: Tooth Guut’ka anq’rtuq: My tooth hurts. You can tell a lot about a person from their teeth. Genetic factors like race and environmental conditions like diet influence the shape and condition of people’s dentition. For example, anthropologists note that people of Native American descent, including Alutiiqs, frequently have shovel-shaped upper incisors. Their front cutting teeth have curved inner edges that...

Alutiiq Word of the Week - June 1, 2012Uq’uRuta1: Garden Uq’uRutaq miktuq: This garden is small Although Alutiiq people have long enjoyed wild fruits and vegetables, gardening is a recent pursuit. Russian colonists were the first to attempt cultivation in Kodiak’s fertile soil, growing grains and vegetables. Barley crops fared well, but wheat failed to ripen in the cool, wet summer months. Vegetable crops were more successful. As early as 1790, Russian...

Alutiiq word of the week — Goose tongue plantsWeg’uat: Goose tongue plants Weg’uat piturnirtut: The goose tongue plants taste good. Goose tongue (Plantago maritime) is a low-lying plantain, an herb that grows in coastal wetlands on beaches, cliffs and marshes across southern Alaska. This plant resembles a clump of grass. It has long, narrow, pointed leaves that grow in bunches from its base. These leaves are thick and succulent and a favorite food of bears. F...

Alutiiq Word of the Week: WillowUqgwingcut or Nimruyaq: Willow Nimruyat nautaartut nunami: Willows always grow on the land. There are more than 50 species of willow (Salix spp.) in Alaska. One botanist estimates that 17 of these species can be found in the Kodiak region. Although most Alaska willows are shrub-sized plants, northern species can range in size from dwarf bushes to full-sized tress. Willows thrive in moist soils, particularly along ...

Alutiiq Word of the Week: UncleAngaq: Uncle Angaqa kanagtuuq: My uncle is tall. Alutiiq people reckon descent bilaterally. This means that children trace their ancestry equally through their mother’s and father’s lineages. A child is recognized as belonging to both sides of his or her family. While Alutiiqs share this practice with the Yup’ik, Iñupiaq and Inuit societies of northern Alaska and Canada, they are unique in the Gulf of Alaska. Neig...

Alutiiq Word of the Week - SkiffSkiigwaq or TuuRaq: Skiff TuuRaliguanga: I am building a skiff. Before the availability of aluminum skiffs and powerful motors and winches, Alutiiq fishermen relied on wooden dories and their own physical strength to harvest salmon. Setnetting, beach seining and ocean seining were done with high-sided, flat-bottomed skiffs propelled by rowing. These skiffs appeared in the late 19th century, during the first years ...

Alutiiq Word of the Week - April 20, 2012Qikarlluk: Sinew Qikarllut tuknirtaartut: Sinew is strong. Sinew is a fibrous, inelastic tissue that comes from the tendons and ligaments of animals. Bands, cords and sheets of this white material connect muscles with bones and support internal organs. Alutiiq people once harvested sinew from a variety of mammals, although the long, strong tendons of bears, whales, and porpoises were particularly coveted. Seamst...

Alutiiq Word of the Week - April 6, 2012Suumacirpet: Subsistence Suumacirpet asirpiatuq: Our way of living is the best. There is no easy way to translate the word “subsistence” into the Alutiiq language. Westerners often think of subsistence as the process of obtaining and eating wild foods, an alternative to buying groceries. This definition, however, fails to capture the complexities of living off the land. To the Alutiiq people, subsistence is life....

Alutiiq Word of the Week - March 30, 2012Alas’kaaq: Alaska Guangkuta Alas’kaarmiu’at: We are All Alaskans. Unangan, the Native language of the Aleutian Island chain, is the source of the name Alaska. In Unangan, Alayeksa means “great land” or “mainland.” Before western conquest, Aleutian Islanders used this word to refer to the western end of the Alaska Peninsula. From their island perspective, the peninsula was an enormous land. Early western explorers ...